Improvement in hinges



C. E. L. HOLMES HINGES.

.No. 183,459. 4 v Pten ted Oct. 17. 1876.

PLPETERS PHDTD-LITHOGRAFHER. VIASHINGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENr OFFICE,

.GHARLES E. L. HOLMES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

.IMPROVEMENT IN HINGES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 183,&59, dated October 17, 1876; application filed September 29, 1876.

To all whom it may concw:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. L. HoLMEs, of the city, county, and State of New York,

have invented Improvements in Hinges, of V plate or silver-plate iron or other non-lustrous metal. Brass, while capable of a fine and dur-able polish, is objectionable on account of color and expense, while zinc cannot be practically plated, and the plating of iron or other metal, which must be effected after the leaves have been forned, renders subsequent finishing Operations necessary, with such increased cost as to eft'ectually preclude the use of such hnges for many desirable purposes. In all these cases, also, the color is soon altered by i the atnosphere`or by the'action of gases.

Another great objection to both brass and zinc is their hardness, which renders it difficult to emboss the surfaces without employing presses of great power, and, without greater pressure, prevents the embossing of designs of a delicate character.

By making the hinge A, Figure 1, of a compound metal, consisting of two or more layers of different metals permanently united, I am enabled to produce an article free from the defects specified and possessing important advantages.

While different metals may be employed inthe manufacture, I have found that the union of zinc and tin, or a tin compound, is most serviceable, the compound metal being first made in sheets by applying a sheet of blocktin, a, to one orboth sides of asheet or block 'of Zinc, b, Fig. 2, and pernanently uniting the pieces in one sheet, which is then cut into blanks forned into leaves, enbossed, if required, and the leaves joined in the usual ,could not otherwise be attained except by i One of the main advantages of this construction is the readiness with which fine and delicate ornanentation maybe imparted to the surface of tin or other soft metal or compound which readily receives impressions from delicately-cut diesoperating under a light pressure. It will be understood that the compound plate, having a thick facing of block-tin, is essentially different from a plated or gilded plate in which the facing-metal can never-be applied practically of sufficient thickness to serve the purpose required; and I therefore lay no claim to a plated or gilded hinge.

I claim- As a new article of manufacture, a hinge, made of a sheet of metal previously forned, having a facc'of block-tin and an inner sheet or backing of Zinc or hard metal, united permanently to the facing-sheet, whenthe soft tin facing constitutes the outer face of the hinge, as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have signedmy name to this specification in the presence of 'two subscribing' witnesses.

0. E. L. HOLMES. witnesses:

C. E. FOSTER, COURTNEY A. COOPER. 

